Lady Wolverines play aggressive game against McCall

The Lady Wolverines handily defeated the Homedale Trojans last week, advancing them in the Snake River Valley (SRV) District Basketball Tournament to play against the second seeded team, McCall-Donnelly Vandals at McCall-Donnelly High School.
 The Lady Wolverines got off to a bumpy start in the opening quarter of the match-up and with shooting success at a minimum, the Wolverines quickly found themselves trailing 0-6.  
 The Wolverine full court press, which is typically difficult for their opponents was not yielding its usual results.  Defensive struggles coupled with shots not falling had the Wolverines playing catch-up throughout the quarter.  
 Senior Maddy Erickson got the Wolverines on the scoreboard with a basket inside the paint at the 5:30 mark and added to the Wolverine score later with a free throw and another basket with only a minute left in the quarter. The Vandals defense, speed and offense presence had the Wolverines trailing 5-17 after one quarter.
 The Lady Wolverines had a lot of ground to make up to get back into the game but the second quarter was a scoring drought for both teams for the first three minutes with the exception of one free throw from Jasi Yraguen.  
 The Vandals countered with their own free throw, but the Lady Wolverines ramped up their man-to-man defense and began to gradually chip away at the lead with a trio of baskets from Maddy Erickson and a pair from both Macy Maloney and Jasi Yraguen.  
 By the conclusion of the first half, the Lady Wolverines had outscored the Vandals 15-7 in the second period and pulled themselves within four-points to 20-24.
 Erickson pulled the Wolverines within two-points, 22-24, early in the third quarter, but the Vandals countered with a basket to make their lead four-points again.  
 A baseline shot from beyond the arc decreased the deficit to only one-point, the closest the Wolverines have been to the Vandals during the game.  
 A pair of Vandal free throws was countered by back-to-back baskets from Shirts, giving the Wolverines their first lead of the game, 29-28.  
 The lead was brief, however, with a successful shot by the Vandals. The speed of the second half of the third period was at a dizzying pace on both ends of the court, but the shooting success of the Vandals and the free throw opportunities provided by Wolverine fouls enabled the Vandals to outscore the Wolverines 10-3 in the last four minutes of the period, giving the Vandals a six-point, 38-32, lead once again.
 A trio of free throws resulting from a foul beyond the arc in the early seconds of the fourth quarter enabled Elle Svedin to minimize the Vandal lead to 35-38. Noyer tied the game with a three-point bucket.
 Once again the Wolverines revved up their defense, causing the Vandals some difficulties, but they still managed to pull ahead again 42-38.  
 Both teams were unwilling to give up and the aggressive play and numerous fouls was a testament to the desire to win by both teams.  
 A three-pointer by the Vandals increased their lead to eight-points, but a basket and a free throw from Erickson had the Wolverines trailing 41-46.  
 Morris added a big basket from three-point land and a pair of free throws, but it wasn’t enough for the Wolverines with a basket and three successful free throws by the Vandals to keep them in the lead 51-46 over the Lady Wolverines.  
 The loss moves the Wolverines into the consolation bracket where they will have to win two more games to qualify for the state play-in game to get into the 3A Idaho State basketball Tournament.
 Senior Maddy Erickson led the Lady Wolverines with a double-double 16-points and 10 rebounds.  Jasi Yraguen and Macy Maloney had seven-points apiece and eight and one rebounds, respectively. Ivy Morris added five-points and two rebounds to her tally while Mattie Shirts and Elle Svedin had four-points apiece and five and three rebounds, respectively. Tobie Noyer had an unusually rough night, scoring only theee-points and recording two rebounds for the Wolverines.